


Let's Take It Slow

by jab_a_niece



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fear of Heights, Friendship, Overcoming Fear, Romance, bad grammar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25103536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jab_a_niece/pseuds/jab_a_niece
Summary: When Hinata suggested the volleyball first years to ride the infamous Drop Tower during their outing to the amusement park, Yachi had already long decided not to join them. Will she ever change her mind and face her fear once again?
Relationships: Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	Let's Take It Slow

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this is my very first attempt at writing a fanfiction with romance in it. It's not going to be good.
> 
> And like my other works, I posted this on Amino and Wattpad.

When Yachi agreed to tag along with the first year volleyball boys on their outing to the amusement park, getting caught in a whirlwind of begs and pleadings from Hinata for her to ride the Drop Tower with them was certainly not part of her agenda.

"Yachi, please! It won't be fun if you don't ride with us!" He begs her once again, but she still refuses to get in line with them. Kageyama smacks the back of his head and yells at him to stop forcing her to take the ride if she doesn't want to, but being the airhead he is, he continues with his desperate bombardment of beggings and pleadings.

She is very much aware of the attention they're attracting. Almost everyone in line has their eyes on them, some looking amused and others annoyed at the ruckus they're making. Being in the spotlight makes her extremely uncomfortable. She so desperately wants Hinata to give up and let her go.

In a different situation, she would've just given in and let the other party get what they want. In this case, she could just join in the line so that Hinata would finally shut up. But she knows better than to deliberately put herself into a near-death experience once again. The beast of a ride looming above them right now is something out of this world, a creation made by the gods themselves to take those onboard past the puffy white clouds and straight to the gates of heaven, before plunging their soulless body back down to Earth. She survived it once a few years back and she swore to never ride it ever again. Not even her friend's wide pleading eyes, which usually worked against her, could change her mind.

She could still vividly recall how terrified she had been as soon as she'd been fastened to the seat. She had willingly step into the line back then, not knowing what to expect but still wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment for riding one of the most intense ride in the park. The ride hadn't even started yet but her hands were already clammy with sweat as she gripped onto the metal handle tightly as if her life depended on it. Her heart started beating furiously against her chest when the seats started moving and everyone onboard were lifted up slowly. The ascend had been torturously slow. Each second of it was a nightmare. Despite knowing the drop will only happen once they were at the top, she couldn't help but think that they could fall at any moment.

Except, they didn't fall and were only taken even higher than before.

Then they finally stopped.

There was a pause.

The pause.

If someone were to ask her what was the scariest part of the ride, she wouldn't take a moment's hesitation to reply it was the pause at the peak.

Up at the highest point, she could see the whole park below and even the expanse beyond the parking lot. The loud music that was initially blasting against her eardrums sounded much more distant and the people below looked like ants. It was the longest ten seconds of her life and in each second, her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. Somehow, she felt lonely waiting up in the sky even though there were other riders onboard with her. She didn't realise it sooner but maybe, at the moment of vulnerability and uncertainty of what to was to come, she needed someone to be right next to her.

It was indeed a very unwise decision to get on the ride without a companion.

And then there was the drop.

Finally.

To say it was the most anti-climatic part of the entire ride is an exaggeration, but she truly felt that the fall, which didn't even last more than seven seconds, was not at all worth the excruciatingly slow build-up. Sure, she was plunged down at a terrifying speed, but it was nothing compared to being held up at the top of the world. At the end of it all, as she got up from her seat, legs wobbly, hands numb and nausea creeping up her throat, she told herself that was enough.

_Once is enough._

She made it through one of her biggest fears on her own accord. She thought it would've helped her get over it, but clearly she was wrong. The damage had been done and her fear of heights only multiplied. She's never going up there ever again, even if there were four of her friends by her side.

_Never again._

"H-Hinata, please... I really don't want to ride it. Just go on without me."

The redhead pauses for a moment. He stares down at her before looking up at the Drop Tower. It was for a brief second, but she caught the unmistakable glimpse of disappointment flashing in his chocolate brown eyes.

And then he pouts. "We'll get you ice-cream if you join us."

Yachi shakes her head.

"Alright, well... how about three scoops? Four? Five? Or what can I do- no, what can we do to make you take the ride with us?"

_Nothing._

She looks at him hopelessly, not bothering to give him an answer. Unfortunately for him, she'd made up her mind a long time ago. Any attempt to convince her would be futile. Not even peer pressure or guilt could change her mind.

Kageyama shoots him a disapproving look. "Oi, don't make it sound like I'm forcing her. I'm fine if she doesn't want to ride this thing with us." He waves his arms around, gesturing at the mighty tower. "Tsukishima, what do you think?"

The tall blond boy who has been silent from the start side glances at him. "Well, what am I supposed to say? She made it clear that she doesn't want to ride it. Shorty is just too dumb to understand that."

"I'm not dumb and I do understand!" Hinata jumps in front of the him, balancing on the tip of his toes to appear taller and intimidating. "I just don't want her to be left out while we're having fun on the ride."

"Just because you'll have fun doesn't mean she will. Can't you tell she's afraid? Stop being selfish just because you know you'll feel bad if you leave her out."

"I'm selfish? I only want everyone to have a good time here! You don't even seem to care if she has to wait alone."

"I'll feel even worse knowing that I forced her into it."

She gets in between them to push them apart, feeling the need to interject. She wants to tell them that she won't be missing out on anything because she's been on it once so she knows how it feels and looks like at the top. She wants to tell them that she is completely fine with waiting down here alone as she watches them slowly, and painfully, being lifted up past the lowest of clouds. She wants them to stop fighting just because they can't come to an agreement about what they should do with her, the only one who refuses to get on the ride.

_What a burden._

"Hey, guys... I don't mind waiting with Yachi down here."

A meek voice broke through, soft and almost inaudible, yet capable of capturing the attention of the three other boys in an instant. Everyone turns their head to look at a certain freckled boy, almost as if he'd said something they wanted to hear. The boy in question cowers a little from the sudden shift in attention and quietly mumbles. "I don't think I want to be on the ride either."

If she didn't know him any better, she would've immediately come to a conclusion that he is just afraid as she is of taking the ride. But she knows him. They talk a lot with each other in between trainings due to their similar personality, which makes it easier for them to have a common subject to talk about. It is always easy for her to approach him because she understands him and he understands her all the same.

Yamaguchi...

"You're backing down already?" Tsukishima smirks. "You get scared too easily, Yamaguchi."

"You speak as if you didn't turn to noodles the last time we rode this, Tsukki."

Tsukishima grits his teeth and looks away. "Shut up, Yamaguchi."

The freckled boy grins. "Sorry, Tsukki."

"You two really don't wanna ride this, huh? That sucks..." Hinata mutters.

"I know... but it's okay."

"What are you gonna do while waiting for us then?"

"I don't know... we'll just walk around until you guys are done, I guess?" He quickly looks at Yachi. "O-Or would you rather we have a sit at one of the benches and wait for them? Because that's okay too!"

"O-Oh... I'm fine with either one."

"Um... alright then. I guess we can sit over there?" He points at one of the benches in a shaded area, underneath a large and sturdy tree. "Is that okay?"

She smiles and nods.

Yamaguchi returns the smile, a faint blush appearing on his freckled cheeks, and waves at the three other boys. "Well, then. Have fun!"

Hinata waves back, Kageyama nods, and Tsukishima doesn't react, eyes fixed on the dinosaur once again.

The pair starts walking towards the empty bench, Yamaguchi at the front and Yachi trailing silently behind him, mind scrambled with thoughts about how she could apologise to him in the best way possible for the inconvenience she'd caused him. She feels extremely guilty. Because of her, Yamaguchi chose to stay behind so that she won't be alone. And it did seem like Tsukishima wanted his best friend to ride along with him too.

She knows this is her fault and she feels terrible about it.

"Um, Yachi? Where are you going?"

She snaps out of her thoughts and spins around to see Yamaguchi standing beside the bench, looking at her in confusion. Her face heats up, a dark shade of red dusting her cheeks, as she realises how she'd walked past the bench. She jogs over to Yamaguchi, retracing the unnecessary steps she had taken and almost tripping over her own leg.

_I'm so clumsy._

_And stupid._

Yamaguchi has his arms out in an instant reaction from the stumbling girl even though she's a little too far away for him to catch. "Are you alright?"

Yachi huffs. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine... sorry- I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Yeah, I was talking and you just kept on walking."

"You were?! I'm so sorry!"

"No! It's really fine! I actually think it was funny- in a good way, of course- because that happens to me a lot and now I get to see how silly I look like. B-But I'm not saying you look silly or anything like that!"

No matter how hard she tries, she couldn't do it. A soft giggle escapes her lips, the embarrassment she felt just moments ago quickly vanishing away as her soft laugh fills the air.

She likes moments like this with Yamaguchi because it reminds of her of how alike they are. It reminds her of how she doesn't have to worry about how being her anxious self around him. Yamaguchi who is equally as anxious and nervous as she is. Soft-spoken and self-conscious, just like how she finds herself having trouble speaking up and making decisions for herself. The way he stutters and blushes whenever he's flustered, exactly like how she would whenever she finds herself in an embarrassing situation. It makes her feel at ease that there's someone she can relate to in this big and scary world.

When she got to know him at first, she thought that they were replicas of each other, a direct duplicate of herself but of a different gender. Though as he started playing more in the court, she realised they have their own differences.

They're two sides of the same coin and reflections of each other, with nothing but a thin piece of glass setting them apart. Reflections get distorted the longer you stare at them and that's how she thinks of Yamaguchi.

"Um, Yachi...? Are you okay?"

Yamaguchi's voice breaks through her thoughts. He's already seated on the bench, looking at her with concern.

"Huh?"

"You were staring into space again... Is something bothering you? Would you like to talk about it?" He gently pats the spot next to him, gesturing her to sit with him.

She complies and walks over to sit next to him, looking down at her hands as she does so. "It's... It's actually nothing important- it's just... I feel bad for not wanting to take the ride. Hinata really wanted all of us to ride together... and I could tell that no one would've volunteered to wait here with me if you didn't." She sighs. "I really wouldn't have minded if I had to wait alone though. Now I feel even worse because you had to stay here with me instead of being up there with the rest."

Silence.

She could feel Yamaguchi's eyes on her, probably thinking of what he should say in response.

And then he laughs. Not his soft laugh she'd grown accustomed to, but a big hearty laugh that sends his head tilting back and shoulders shaking. She blinks and looks at him in confusion, not understanding what was so funny. She pouts and waits for him to stop, but he doesn't show any signs of stopping anytime soon. She places both her hands on his cheeks and squeezes them together, hard enough to puff his cheeks together but not enough to hurt him.

His eyes go wide at the sudden physical contact and he stiffens, his laughter dying in his throat as a blush slowly creeps up on his cheeks, intermingling with his freckles to make him look like a strawberry.

That shut him up.

Not even a "shut up, Yamaguchi" from Tsukishima would've worked this well.

She removes her hand from his reddened cheeks, still pouting. "Did I say something silly?"

"A-Ah, no... y-you did not." He clears his throat and averts his gaze, looking at everywhere else except her. "I... I just thought it's funny how you think so highly of me. You make it sound like I made a huge sacrifice or s-something for everyone by volunteering to accompany you here."

"Did you not? You were quiet the whole time. And you only decided to speak up when Hinata and Tsukishima got into a fight. That made me think you actually wanted to take the ride."

"O-Oh... did it really came off like that? Anyway, I thought you knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't ever want to ride anything like that." He smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. There is still a blush on his cheeks, though not as obvious as before. "The only reason why I joined the line is because I wanted to challenge myself for the second time. Tsukki and I rode it before once just last year. It was terrible for the both of us... Tsukki's legs became all wobbly and he couldn't stand properly afterwards, and I threw up in the bathroom. I think Tsukki wanted to challenge himself again too and he's actually serious about it, while I already had thoughts of backing down since the start. But there's always next time so I shouldn't dwell too much on this for now."

_Next time...?_

_Is once not enough?_

"O-Oh... y-yeah... there's always another time, I guess..."

Yamaguchi only hums in response. "What about you then? I was sure you would give in to Hinata and join the line. Does that ride really terrify you that much?"

She nods slowly, absentmindedly fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. "I rode it once too a few years ago... It wasn't the drop that scared me but the height. I mean, the drop was still terrifying, just not as much as being suspended up in the sky." She sighs, pausing for a whole minute to think of how she can proceed. "I'm not brave like you. I don't want to ride it again. I'm satisfied with just riding it once."

A short minute passes before Yamaguchi straightens and turns his body to face her completely. He places a hand on her shoulder firmly and looks down into her eyes. "Yachi, please don't ever compare yourself with me, or anyone for that matter. The number of times you ride it doesn't mean anything- this isn't a competition. I want to ride it again because I want to challenge myself. I know I'll never get over that feeling unless I ride it again, not because I want to prove to myself or anyone that I'm brave. Because bravery is one of the many things that lack."

Same here...

The look in his eyes are so intense, she looks down to avoid gazing into them. She has seen him like this in court before, but she never thought that she would ever be on the receiving end of those fiery eyes.

"You're actually really cool, Yamaguchi. You're the coolest person I know." She could feel his hand shaking. She looks up at him and smile, but he doesn't appear convinced. Tentatively, she raises her hand and places it above his hand on her shoulder.

That move elicits yet another reaction from him as his face turns bright red. Even so, he doesn't pull his hand back and stares right back at her.

"Go on, dude! Kiss her!"

A foreign voice interrupts whatever moment they were having. Yachi looks over to see a group of teenage boys cackling loudly as they walk past, mischief twinkling in their eyes. They walked through a corner and in a blink of an eye, they were gone. Yamaguchi immediately pulls his hand back and scoots away from her, face a darker shade of red now.

"I-I'm sorry that happened..."

Yachi's reaction was a little slower but when the realisation of what just happened hit her, her ears started heating up and she slowly turned to face the front. "N-No, it's fine..."

Side by side they sat in silence, pretending to be immersed in their own thoughts to mask the side glances they're stealing from each other. That one comment from a stranger made them feel things. One is trying her best to control the butterflies flying loose in her stomach, while the other is trying the best he can to stop blushing.

"Um, Yamaguchi?"

One succeeds.

The boy jumps a little from the sudden intrusion of the fragile silence between them. "Y-Yes?"

The other is still trying.

"I was just thinking about what you told me... about challenging yourself even though you feel afraid- and I thought maybe I should ride that." She points at a ferris wheel not too far away from them. It stands tall among the other roller coasters but it is certainly not as tall as the drop tower. "I want to face my fear of heights."

"Are you sure? You don't really have to start working on it now. You can start slow if you must..."

"Which is why I want to ride the ferris wheel. It doesn't seem as scary as the drop tower. It would be a good first step for me, I think... do you want to ride with me?"

Yamaguchi blinks. A smile slowly forms on his lips and holds a hand out. "Gladly."

Yachi looks at his hand. She could feel her chest swelling with emotions. Most of all was fear. She'd just willingly put herself into another situation where she has to face her fear of heights and she was certainly nervous about what is to come.

_At least I'm not alone this time._

She holds his hand and together they walk hand-in-hand down the path to the ferris wheel.

\- - - - -

When they returned to the bench to meet with the others, Hinata and Kageyama had a thrilled expression on their face. Clearly, they had enjoyed the ride.

Tsukishima, on the other hand, was slumped against the bench, arms and legs stretched out across his body.

"Turned into noodles again, Tsukki?"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I gave up on grammar and dialogues. And you can tell I was rushing it towards the end. I gave up on everything, basically. I just wanted to get this off my drafts and catch up on sleep. Like, I really love this ship with all of my heart but I'm tired.~~
> 
> First of all, this was not supposed to be 3k+ words long. Secondly, I realised halfway that I can't write romance. I just don't know h o w to. Like I mentioned before, this is a very amateur first attempt at writing a shipfic and I'm not very proud of it. I don't even know what I was writing, tbh. The only reason why I posted this is because I spent so much time on it.


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